


Under Weeping Skies

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: McReyes [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Fear, First Meetings, Grief/Mourning, Hope, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Past, Rain, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: It always rained. It rained as Deadlock fell, it rained when Zurich fell and it was raining as Reaper lifted the shotgun towards him once more.





	Under Weeping Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Commissioned for McReyes Charity Week.

It always rained.

It had rained on the day that he had met Gabe, a steady downpour finally bringing a break to the heat that had gripped Route 66 for the past few weeks. Perhaps that was why they had been caught off guard, hiding away inside, blind to the danger that had approached under cover of the rain clouds. Jesse had been the first to see them, leaning against the door and drinking in the scent of fresh rainfall, when he heard the thud of boots on the hard ground, accompanied by the splash of water in the places where it had begun to pool.

There was a small part of his mind that screamed that this was a way out, an escape – that now was the time to slip away and be lost in the confusion. He didn’t. His fingers slid to the gun holstered at his side, a cry of alarm that sounded more like a plea for help escaped just as he heard the first crack of gunfire.

After that it was chaos. A maelstrom of gunfire and blood muffled by the steady patter of rain against the metal ceiling. Jesse was lost to the storm, a line of fire breaking through the damp as a bullet scored his arm, followed by a second that slammed into his shoulder, and then he was falling, fingers loosening on his weapon. He waited for the ground to rush up to meet him, but then there were strong fingers biting into both shoulders, oddly mindful of the bleeding wounds and holding him upright.

“Enough.” The voice was stern. Firm, but not unkind and Jesse lifted his head, peering through drenched locks and up into fierce brown beneath a curious scowl, and for the first time in months his fear was tempered by something else.

Hope.

*

It was raining as McCree stumbled out of the bar, immediately soaking him to the skin but he didn’t care, tilting his face up to the sky and letting it wash away the tears that he hadn’t been able to hold back.

Gone.

It was all gone.

Overwatch. Blackwatch. Zurich.

Gabriel Reyes.

Gabe.

_Gabe…_

    It was the last one that broke the tiny tether of control that he had been clinging to, a choked sob welling up in the back of his throat as he managed another step before collapsing to his knees. Mud and water immediately soaked into his knees, but he didn’t feel it, burying his face in his hands, as that sob was followed by another and then another until his whole body was shaking with the force of them. _I should have stayed._ He had doubted his decision from the moment he had walked away from Zurich, but now the doubts hit him anew, only now they were accompanied with an overwhelming sense of regret. Of guilt. Of grief.

   It wouldn’t have changed anything, he knew that…and yet here in the rain, with tears streaking down his cheeks, and the images of Zurich razed to the ground burnt onto his mind, all he could do was wish that he had been there.

At least to say goodbye.

*

It was raining again.

    McCree groaned, letting his head loll back so that he could glare at the darkening clouds above him, the wall he was leaning against doing little to shelter him from the rain. _It always rains,_ he thought, blinking against the drops falling on his face. Yet despite his irritation, he couldn’t deny that the coolness was soothing against his skin and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling the echoing burn of pain in his side and he bit back a groan.

He’d screwed up.

    Years of working on his own and surviving with little more than minor injuries and yet here he was, barely three months into working with Overwatch once more, with his lifeblood mingling with the rain in the mud beneath him. Finding a shred of strength, he turned and reached for his communicator, only to yank his fingers back with a strangled yelp as something sparked against his skin and squinting through blurry eyes he watched as the light sparked one final time and then died, leaving him more alone than ever. Exhausted, he let his eyes drift shut. Just for a moment, he told himself, trying to ignore the feeling of defeat that was beginning to lap at his flagging spirits.

    It might’ve been longer than a minute, his mind drifting, lost in a foggy haze. Then he heard it, an echo of those footsteps he had heard all those years ago on another rainy day. There was a heaviness to them, a menace that had been lacking back then and he hesitated, wondering if he kept his eyes shut, if it would make the end any easier to handle. To hide from the truth. However, he had hidden from the truth for far too long, closed his eyes to what was happening in Blackwatch, to what Gabriel was becoming and to the cracks that had eventually brought Overwatch crashing to its knees, and with a growl, he forced his eyes open.

    The dark figure loomed out of the haze covering his eyes, the bone mask even more haunting that it had been half an hour before when he’d stared down the barrel of a shotgun.

Reaper.

 Death.

“Gabe…” It came out as a plea and prayer all in one, underlain with the same hope that had engulfed him when he had realised who lay under the mask. The same hope that had been born all those years ago, crashing around him as Zurich crumbled to the ground, the hope that was beginning to waver as Reaper drew closer, staring down at him without any sign of emotion. Mist was rising from him, creeping across the ground towards him, and the rain seemed to close in around them, sealing them in their own bubble, and to McCree, it felt like the world was weeping for them as Gabe…as Reaper lifted the shotgun towards him once more.

_I guess it’s not going to rain anymore._


End file.
